This Thing We Do: The Heart of a Queen
by freifraufischer
Summary: Romantic Snow Queen. Set during the events of 3.01. Exhausted and trying to keep her own head on straight, Regina puts a stop to the affair she's been having with Snow so she can focus on the task at hand: saving Henry. But Snow isn't so ready to let go. The fourth story in the This Thing We Do series.


_During the events of 3.01_

The damage to the Jolly Roger from the storm slowed them down. Hook said that it would be a few hours before landfall and it was best that they get some rest. At the very least it meant they wouldn't be at each other's throats. Which was bound to happen again. At least Snow and Regina. Though worse things may come out with the five of them together on this adventure. Snow was never sure if she could control herself around Regina anymore. The fist fight had only emphasized that.

Every time it happened, the madness, the sex, Snow would go into it telling herself that it would be the last time. That she would end it. That she wouldn't let Regina poison the most important thing in her life, her marriage. And every time she ended up against a wall, or on a table, or at least last time in her bed, and the love making wasn't romantic or gentle. Because there was nothing romantic or gentle about Snow and Regina. It was fiery and angry and dirty. And the angriest one of them wasn't, as much as Snow wanted it to be otherwise, wasn't Regina.

She washed her face in the basin of water when she heard the door to the cabin close.

"I promise, I wont do it again David. She just gets under my skin..."

Except when she turned around it wasn't her husband standing there, but Regina. Her hands deep in the pockets of her trench coat, looking at her with those big intense brown eyes.

"Regina..."

"Careful, Snow, I'm perfectly willing to punch you again." The Queen replied dryly, but didn't move towards her.

"David knows where I am."

Regina chuckled. "In case I want to kill you? Or are we supposed to be having passionate illicit sex?"

"He could come in at any time."

"The captain is keeping your prince occupied for me."

"You told Hook?" Snow asked alarmed.

"Of course not, he assumed I was going to torture you." Regina waved a hand dismissively.

"And he gave you privacy. That bodes well for this adventure."

"It's not an adventure Snow. It's a rescue. We're here to rescue Henry. It's not going to be some grand romantic story that will be written about in books." Regina approached her and for the first time Snow could see the weight the last twenty four hours had taken on her step-mother, enemy, lover. Whatever it was that they were. Her shoulders were slumped a bit. She was standing erect, as she always did, but there was a weight to her footfalls that wasn't normal. And the burn marks from the torture...

When she reached up to touch them absently, Regina's hand move quickly and grabbed her by the wrist.

"We wont be doing this Snow. This thing we do. I don't have the energy to waste on you right now."

"I was just..."

"That's what I came here to tell you. I wont have it. Not while Henry is in danger. Whatever goes on in your head. Whatever drives you to me. I wont have it distract me from what I need to do to save Henry. I need you to get it through that thick skull of yours that I wont be catering to your desire for ... whatever it is that happens between us."

Snow's brow ferruled, and she shook her head.

"Don't tell me you are having trouble comprehending basic English now Snow, I could tell you in Elvish but I'm reasonably sure you don't speak it."

"You are ending it?"

"I'm stopping it."

"But you can't end it." Snow said numbly.

Regina raised an eyebrow and smiled one of her entirely unreassuringly smiles. "I can't? And here I thought that's what I just did."

Regina couldn't be the one to end it. This twisted fucked up thing they did. It was Snow's to end. She was the hero. She was the one who was supposed to come to her senses and excise the poison from her life. This wasn't going to happen this way.

Snow grabbed her by the lapels of her trench coat and pulled her into a kiss. Long and passionate, and not one Regina seemed to object to until Snow found herself flying backwards and crashing into the wall of the cabin with a hard thud. Regina's arms out.

Magic. She'd pushed her away with magic.

"I told you I'm stopping it Snow. You don't get to force me to do anything. Not this. Not a cage. I'm not some trapped animal." There was cold fury in Regina's voice as she walked towards where Snow was pinned to the wall. "You always were a selfish, self righteous little bitch. I don't have time for you right now. Not for your games. Not for your pretending you are a victim. We're going to be absolutely clear. If you touch me again without my express permission I'll burn off your hand. Are we clear, Princess?"

"Yes..."

"Yes?"

"Yes, Regina."

"Whatever ideas you get on that island, keep them to yourself. I don't want to hear them. Nothing is going to get between me and my son. Not Peter Pan. Not Hook's desires. And certainly not yours."

And with that, the Queen turned and left and Snow sat in stunned silence.

* * *

><p>Regina shook her head as she left the cabin. She needed to keep a clear head. She couldn't think about the torture or the pain or the fact that she just wanted to sleep for a thousand years. She needed to focus on Henry. And cutting off Snow had been the first step in triaging her wounds. Snow was and old wound, bitter and festering and always demanding her attentions. She needed not to be thinking about her on this trip. Much less wondering if the stupid girl and her lack of self control was going to expose them while they trekked through the island with no cover and no privacy.<p>

She had no doubts that she could deal with the shepherd. He was quick to anger, and not unskilled with a sword, but he'd be dead before he wasted the energy charging at her with the letter opener of his. But the problem would be explaining it afterwards. Hello Regina, why did you kill Prince Charming? Oh because he was jealous when he found me fucking his wife.

She rather doubted that anyone in town, especially Henry when they found him, would be that understanding. And for some gods unknown reason she actually found herself caring what other people thought. When the hell did that happen?

She got to the rail of the boat and took a deep inhale of the sea air.

"I'd tell you that you should rest, but I can't either." The voice of Emma Swan was the last thing she wanted, but she said nothing as the blond came up beside her and leaned against the rail. "But it's worth remembering I didn't just get tortured. But I do know how much energy you had to have poured into that diamond. You were doing it a lot longer than I was and the Blue Fairy said..."

"Never believe a thing a fairy says to you, Miss. Swan. All those stories in Henry's book about how they help the good and the innocent and the weak are all propaganda."

"Like an evil queen who doesn't seem quite so evil anymore?"

"I was ruling a kingdom, Miss. Swan. It's actually a lot more complicated than your parents ever took into account."

"So what's your problem with fairies?"

They were having a conversation about everything but what was on both their minds. They both knew it Regina was sure. But she wasn't about to force reality on Emma, even if she'd just had to do it with Snow. "The first time I wished upon a star I was seven. My mother had broken my arm. The last time I was eighteen and desperate not to marry a man three times my age while I was still mourning the love of my life. I doubt I'll ever know why I wasn't worthy of their help. Maybe I was already a villain in the book the night before my wedding... but I just can't accept that I was when I was younger than Henry. Evil isn't born, it's made."

Emma was silent, but something about her strong reassuring presence made Regina think she was agreeing with her. It was a long time until she spoke. "A couple years ago I would have told you I didn't believe in good and evil. That life wasn't that simple."

"I'm not the one to ask, Miss. Swan. I've apparently only just come to the realization that I'm the bad guy in the story."

"Emma. If we're going to save our son, you can call me Emma. And you aren't the bad guy of this story. Whatever is in that fucking book. In this story you just tried to sacrifice yourself for thousands of people. I may not be as into heroes as Henry is, but I'm damn sure I have never done anything that heroic. If I get to wear the label so do you."

"Don't wear a label Emma. You'll end up living up to it." She paused. "Or down."

"I take it you didn't come up with the name the Evil Queen?"

Regina smiled and turned to look at her, "I have a sense of the dramatic, trust me, but no. I have no idea who came up with that. Probably some supporter of Snow or her father. Peasants do that. Come up with their own versions of what happens in the castles. It helped them explain the ups and downs of their lives."

"Peasants? Did you really just refer to people as peasants?" Emma asked amused.

"That's what they were Emma. Your parents and I, we don't come from some Monty Python skit. Besides, who do you think the people who work in the Storybrooke grocery store were? Heroes I condemned to life stocking tampons?"

"That would have been a pretty good revenge on your enemies. I would have done that."

Regina chuckled. "Maybe you aren't an insufferable Charming after all."

"And maybe you aren't all evil if you can make a Monty Python reference."

"Maybe I'm not."


End file.
